Fall 2016

IOLTA

IOLTA: From the Chair

By Hon. James S. Hill, Commission on Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts

Recently, the Commission on IOLTA gathered at the North Carolina State Bar’s office building in Raleigh to conduct its fall business meeting and discuss IOLTA developments from around the country.

IOLTA

Grantee Spotlight - Pursuing Justice for Victims of Labor Trafficking

By Stephanie Dorenbosch and Matthew Lamberti

Since 2014, Friends of Farmworkers, which receives grant funds from the Pennsylvania IOLTA Board, has identified and served over 100 victims of human trafficking in Pennsylvania. Without a dramatic rise in gang activity, prostitution rings, or international smuggling cartels in the state, how did a civil legal aid provider with just ten staff members become a leading advocacy organization for trafficking victims in such a short time?

IOLTA

NAIP Foundation Leadership Alliance Project: Infusing the Value of Civil Justice into the Philanthropic Community

By Charles R. Dunlap and Marilyn Smith

On March 31 and April 1, 2016, representatives from 11 states gathered in Washington, D.C. for the National Association of IOLTA Programs (NAIP) Leadership Summit. This gathering focused on strengthening partnerships between the civil legal aid and philanthropic communities.

IOLTA

News and Notes

New commission members and 2017 Winter IOLTA Workshops

Legal Delivery

LRIS: From the Chair

By C. Elisia Frazier, Standing Committee on Lawyer Referral and Information Service

In my last column, I posed this question: Are you embracing and using technology to enhance your lawyer referral program? At that time, I also mentioned a new project designed by Ken Matejka, of Matejka Marketing, called LRSconnect, which is a web-based platform that includes all non-profit lawyer referral programs nationwide.

Legal Delivery

Meet the newest ABA Standing Committee on Lawyer Referral Service

Each year the ABA President-Elect asks the Chair of the Standing Committee and ABA staff for recommendations for new members. There are nine committee members plus the chair, with a third of the committee (or so) rotating off each year.

Legal Delivery

Observations from a Newcomer to the Lawyer Referral Service Community

By Kim Bart Mullikin

Confession: When I became the director of the Lawyer Referral Service (LRS) at the North Carolina Bar Association about a year and a half ago, I had zero knowledge about LRS programs. I had little idea what it meant to administer such a service or what made for a good LRS program.

Legal Delivery

Opinion and Perspective: The Place for LRIS in the Legal Technology Revolution

By Tony Lai

Over four days in Albuquerque at the 2016 ABA LRIS Workshop, I witnessed a renaissance being seeded by staff and leaders of the nation's Lawyer Referral Services, dedicated to access to justice and upholding the standards of the legal profession.

Pro Bono

Pro Bono: From the Chair

By George (Buck) T. Lewis, Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service

I hear expressions of anxiety everywhere I go. Conservative lawyers, liberal lawyers, non-lawyers, clergy, and elected officials all declaring how bewildered they are by the condition of the world in which we live. Terrorist attacks abroad and at home, violent acts committed by law enforcement officers and against law enforcement officers, and the acrimonious discourse of our public dialogue have left us all wondering if this old world of ours is coming unraveled.

Pro Bono

Inspiring a Lifelong Commitment to Pro Bono

By Michael G. Bergmann

Legal aid attorneys across the country work tirelessly, day after day, to serve low-income and underrepresented individuals and families in need of legal services. But the need outpaces the availability of these critical services, which is where pro bono attorneys come in: by volunteering their time and unique expertise, pro bono attorneys can help fill in the gaps, and their impact for their legal aid clients can be life-changing.